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National Pride in Foodservice Week is February 5th-9th. Pride in Foodservice Week applauds nutrition, foodservice professionals and other members of the dietary team. Recognition and gratitude are well deserved for people who work in these fields. The Avon School District has three foodservice professionals that deserve recognition for all that they do to provide and prepare good school lunches for the staff and students. Avon’s foodservice professionals are Jennifer Ridgway, Angie Ferwerda, and Heidi Penning. Angie Ferwerda is the Foodservice Director for the Avon School District. She began in August of 2016 as a Food Service Assistant and in August of 2019 was promoted to her current position. Angie first wanted to work for the school in foodservice because she wanted to be able to have the same schedule as her children who were in school. Angie’s day starts at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. Angie’s favorite part of her job is getting to interact with the students as they go through the lunch line. She enjoys hearing when the students tell her what meals they enjoyed and should have more often on the lunch menu. Angie has enjoyed cooking and baking since she was a kid in grade school. These are activities that come to her pretty naturally and she really enjoys being able to try new recipes and create in her kitchen. Like most people who enjoy cooking, Angie does not look forward to having to do the dishes afterwards. Her favorite school meals to make are walking tacos; they take a lot of time and effort but are so worth it. At home Angie particularly likes to make desserts. Angie and her husband, Randy, have two children Justin, a 2022 AHS graduate and Carmindy who is currently a Junior at AHS. When not busy working or spending time with her family, Angie enjoys farm life and reading. Angie also volunteers her time as the 4H Leader for the Avon Sweet Clovers. Heidi Penning is a food service professional for the Avon School District. She began working in this position three years ago. When asked why she first wanted to take a job at the school in foodservice, her response was that she wanted to try something different and this was the perfect job for that. Heidi starts her work day at 7:30 a.m. and works until 3:30 p.m. each day. Her favorite part of the job is being able to see the kids come through the lunch line. Heidi enjoys making macaroni salad. Before she began working at the Avon School, Heidi had worked in the kitchen at the Good Samaritan Society in Wagner for 28 years. Heidi is married to Jerome Power and they have two children Chassidy and Logan. When Heidi has free time, she enjoys swimming and camping. Jennifer Ridgway has been a food service professional for the Avon School District since April of 2022. Jennifer chose to take this position with the school because it was close to home. She starts her work day at 10 a.m. and ends around 1:30 p.m. Jennifer really enjoys her job because of her wonderful co-workers. As a person who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, this is a job that is not usually too hard on her joints. Jennifer’s duties do not usually include cooking, instead she helps serve, clean, put things away and on occasion will chop vegetables. Cooking is not really her forte, but when she does cook, she follows the instructions pretty closely. Jennifer has a son, Valentino, who is a kindergartener at Avon. When Jennifer does have free time, she enjoys reading. Thank you, Angie, Heidi and Jennifer for all your hard work and dedication to the students and staff at the Avon School District.